Author: Richard Batten LL.B (Hons), Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Director of Censere Group Co., Ltd

Richard is a Director with the Censere Group and for the past 20 years has been assisting clients in the Asia Pacific Region with Due Diligence investigations in a variety of Mergers and Acquisitions across different industries.  His projects have included clients from China, Japan, India, Korea, Australia and the USA.  

One of the significant trends in the Asia Pacific region over the last few decades has been the emergence in a number of countries of new or tightened laws on privacy of personal data or “Data Privacy”.  This trend has created a particular challenge for forensic practitioners providing integrity due diligence services to clients seeking to mitigate their risk(s) before deciding on significant investments in the region.  Not only does a forensic practitioner need to understand where and how to obtain relevant background information on a target company, and key individuals associated with the target, but is also required to have a sound knowledge of all data privacy laws and guidance in the jurisdictions relevant to particular due diligence projects.

Mengniu, Yili and Bright Dairy are Market Leaders

On basis of company sizes, market players in the Chinese dairy market can be categorized into 3 tiers. The 1st tier refers to the national players, namely, Mengniu, Yili, and Bright Dairy. The 2nd tier includes regional players, such as Beijing Sanyuan Dairy, Royal Dairy, and Yantang Dairy. The 3rd tier players focus almost solely on local markets and pose no immediate threat to players in the first two tiers. There are more than 1,500 dairy companies in China, while the number of companies with operational revenues above RMB5 million is more than 400. In 2012 the dairy industry reported sales revenue of RMB246.54 billion, the top 4 dairy companies were all domestic companies and merely accounted for around 39% of market share. Foreign dairy companies, such as Danone, Mead Johnson, and Nestle, made up more than half of the market.

China is the second largest pharmaceutical market in the world

With China’s expanding personal income and the growing medical needs of its aging population, its pharmaceutical market has become the second largest in the world. IMS Health predicts that global spending on medicines will reach around USD1,300 billion by 2018, a 30% increase over the 2013 level. During 2014-18, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) on medicines spending will be 4% to 7%. China had a spending level of USD77.2 billion in 2012, which accounted for 8% of global medicines spending. It is forecasted that China’s spending level will reach USD155-185 billion in 2018, which would be the highest among emerging pharmaceutical markets. The key drivers for growth will be healthcare infrastructure improvements, increased access to medicines, and increases in the number of private hospitals.

 増加する金銭トラブルと不正

 人々はなぜ不正を犯すのでしょうか？

金銭に纏わるストレスは、人々が不正を犯す主な理由の1つとして広く認識されています。一部の人々は病的な理由で不正を犯しますが、これらは件数が少ないです。我々が毎日耳にしている典型的な不正ではありません。しかし、何か問題が生じたときに、御社と長い間信頼関係にあった従業員と仕入先が不正の強い誘惑を感じる事が有ります。最近時は石油、石炭と他の鉱物の価格が低迷しており、多くの資源及びエネルギーセクターの経営者は、いかなる潜在的損失を少しでも軽くしようとコスト削減に躍起となっています。対応策は既に取られており、在庫は減らされ、支払いサイクルは伸びています。今現在、不確実性のレベルが非常に高くなっています。

Why people commit fraud

Financial stress is widely recognized as one of the key reasons why people commit fraud. Some people commit fraud for other, pathological, reasons, but these are small in number and not typically the kind of fraudsters we deal with daily.

However employees and suppliers who have had a long and trusted relationship with you may feel added pressures when there are dark clouds on the horizon. Presently with the price of oil, coal and other minerals at recent record low, many Resources and Energy Sector employers are looking to reduce costs to help mitigate any potential losses. Orders are down, inventories are being reduced, payment cycles are increasing; there is generally a greater level of uncertainty right now.

Your staff and suppliers may feel their position with you is threatened and start to worry about their short to medium term future. At the same time your staff and suppliers are seeking their cost of living and business costs increasing, with little they can do about it.

It is at exactly these times of economic uncertainty that your staff and suppliers will start to feel increased stress about how they will meet their own financial obligations. For many it is a lifestyle issue, for others it really is a matter of survival. Committing fraud is often seen as the only way.

中国鉄鉱石市場2015年第一四半期概観

 オーストラリアが最大の埋蔵量を維持

アメリカ合衆国地質調査所に拠れば、世界全体の鉄量の埋蔵量は81,000百万トンで170,000百万トンの鉄鉱石に含まれています。オーストラリアとブラジルが世界最大の鉄鉱石保有国でその埋蔵量も世界最大です。2013年時点で、オーストラリアは17,000百万トンの鉄の埋蔵量が有り、鉄含有量で35,000百万トンです。一方、ブラジルは16,000百万トンの鉄の埋蔵量が有り、鉄量換算では31,000百万トンを保有しています。

 鉄含有量順の鉄鉱石埋蔵量世界トップ５（単位：百万トン） 

国名

Australia holds the largest amount of iron ore reserves

According to the U.S.Geological Survey (USGS), world total reserves of iron amount to about 81,000 million tonnes contained within 170,000 million tonnes of crude ore. Australia and Brazil are among the world’s largest iron ore holders and hold a large portion of the world’s iron ore reserves. As of 2013, Australia had reserves of 17,000 million tonnes of iron content and 35,000 million tonnes of crude ore while the figures for Brazil were 16,000 million tonnes and 31,000 million tonnes respectively.

アジア太平洋の石炭火力発電

アジア太平洋の石炭火力発電の全体像

Overview of coal power generation in Asia Pacific countries

Coal is a crucial fuel for the generation of electricity and it is reported that over 40% of electricity generated worldwide in 2013 was fueled by coal. Mongolia and South Africa used coal to generate more than 90% of each country’s total electricity in 2013. Coal is also a major source in some Asia Pacific countries; China, Australia, and India generated more than half of their electricity by coal. In Indonesia and Japan, coal is used to generate 48% and 21% of electricity respectively. 

The Supermarket Sector Experienced Rapid Growth in the Past Decade

Since the early 1990s, when the supermarket sector started to open to private and foreign investors, the Chinese supermarket sector has been expanding massively. In 1992 there were around 2,500 supermarkets in China, and following economic growth and urbanization, the number of supermarket increased fourfold by 2002. The growth trend continued and the number reached 38,554 by 2011. The compound annual growth rate from 2002 to 2011 was 15.82%. As a matter of course, sales volume has also increased significantly from RMB131.8 billion in 2002 to RMB339.8 billion in 2011. Today, the Chinese supermarket sector is quite mature and competitive. 

India Suffers from Water Security Problem

With the second largest population in the world and a growing economy, India is a big water consumer. However, as a result of limited water availability and poor infrastructure, India faces a number of challenges. The Water Security Index, created by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), gives India an overall score of 1.6 which is low compared to other Asian countries. Among the five components of the index India gets the lowest scores for household water security, urban water security, and environmental water security. This indicates that India suffers from serious water problems including: (1) poor ability to satisfy household water and sanitation needs, and poor ability to meet hygiene requirements for public health in all communities; (2) insufficient urban water-related services, such as water supply, wastewater treatment, and drainage; and (3) river basins that are in poor health. 

インドは水の安全性が問題

現在のリサイクル率は低迷中

家電製品廃棄物はe-waste, e-scrapとも表記されます。即ち壊れたり古くなったりした家電製品は処分されます。コンピューター、モニター、テレビ、携帯電話、電池、ステレオ・セットなどが良くある家電製品廃棄物です。家電製品の寿命が尽きたり、もう使用しなくなったりした後にゴミ埋立地に捨てたり、焼却すれば環境へ悪影響を与えますし人の健康への影響も甚大です。ですから家電製品を適切な方法で処分し、環境や人体への悪影響を最小限に抑えることが期待されています。リサイクルは家電製品の処分方法として最適な方法とされています。現在は先進諸国でさえ、家電製品のリサイクル率は低いのです。2000年以来、米国の家電製品のゴミの量は増え続け、2011年には341万トンとなっています。しかしながらリサイクル率は24.9％ととても低いのです。 

家電製品は先進諸国から発展途上国へと流通します。

家電製品は、リサイクル率が低いので先進諸国から発展途上国へと輸出されます。世界の主要な家電製品廃棄物輸出国は、北アメリカ、西ヨーロッパ、日本、韓国及びオーストラリアです。現在、世界で家電製品廃棄物のリサイクル活動が盛んなのは、中国、インド、フィリピン、ナイジェリア、パキスタン及びガーナです。一般的には、西アフリカに対して小規模な輸出が行われ、より大規模で構造的且つ組織化された輸出が南東アジアに対して行われます。